A bright, sunny Thursday afternoon began with the unveiling of a metal sculpture at the entrance of the Great Bend Sports Complex.
After the ceremony, the Great Bend High School baseball team unveiled the 2013 edition of the Panthers, who swept aside Hoisington, 11-0 and 8-2. The opener was stopped after 4½ innings because of the 10-run rule.
“This complex is really coming together,” GBHS head coach Randy Beck said. “We really appreciate everything that is being done out here — not only on the field, but just in the complex area, to make this a top-notch place to play.
“The artwork out front really sets the tone when you walk into the ballpark.”

Great Bend 11, Hoisington 0 (4½)
Great Bend walked past the Cardinals in the opener.
Capitalizing on wild pitching by Hoisington pitcher Terry Crawford, the Panthers scored eight runs in the first inning and added three runs in the fourth. The 10-run rule went into effect.
Great Bend drew five walks and had a hit batter during the first to take control.
Dakota Conaway hit a run-scoring double and Bryce Beck added a two-run triple to highlight Great Bend’s first.
“We did have a couple big blasts early in Game 1, which really put us up,” Randy Beck said of Conaway’s and Beck’s extra-base hits. “Dakota’s double and Bryce’s triple, I think it helped relax everybody relaxed after that.
“Our first game out of the gate, everybody is a little tense. But after that, it relaxed everybody to swing more freely at the plate.”
Beck, a junior right-hander, pitched a four-hit shutout, recording a pair of strikeouts while not walking anyone.
“Bryce was up there pitching with the lead after the first inning,” Randy Beck said. “That makes all of the difference in the world.”
The Panthers capitalized on three Hoisington errors in the fourth to put it out of reach.
Braden Jones, Shade Wondra, Danny Herrman and Chad Touslee added singles to the Panthers’ six-hit attack.
Hoisington’s hits came on a pair of singles by Trent Schremmer, and Ethan Woodcock and Crawford each had a base hit.

Great Bend 8, Hoisington 2
The Panthers scored a pair of runs in the first, getting a sacrifice fly from Chad Touslee and an RBI single by winning pitcher Tristan Hall.
The Cardinals trailed 2-1 in the third after Braden Crites led off with a single and Schremmer’s base hit later knocking him in.
“Early in the game, it was pretty tight,” Randy Beck said. “Braden Jones hit a line drive that got by the first baseman with the bases loaded, and then Tristan Hall had a two-run single to left.”
That extended the Panthers’ lead to 5-1. They capped their onslaught with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth.


HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Non-Conference

At Great Bend
Sports Complex

Thursday

Game 1
Great Bend 11, Hoisington 0  (4½)
              123   45        R   H   E
HOIS     000   00  —   0   4   3
GBHS    800   3x  —  11  6   2
     Terry Crawford & Colton Zink; Bryce Beck & Eric Ruiz. W — Beck (1-0). L — Crawford (0-1). 2B — Great Bend (Conaway). 3B — Great Bend (Beck).

Game 2
Great Bend 8, Hoisington 2
              123   456  7       R   H   E
HOIS     001   001  0  —  2   4   2
GBHS    203   111  x  —  8   7   1
     Jacob Warnken, & Colton Zink; Tristan Hall, Dillon Reiser (6) & Eric Ruiz. W — Hall (1-0). L — Warnken (0-1).